


The ABCs of Whump

by BronzeDragon13



Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Carlos Whump, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:08:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24753703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BronzeDragon13/pseuds/BronzeDragon13
Summary: Just a bunch of stories focusing on some Carlos whump. That's all.
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand
Comments: 41
Kudos: 146





	1. A for allergy

Carlos wakes up feeling like his nose is stuffed up and his eyes are gritty as the lids slide open. It’s early, no where near the normal time he usually gets up, and TK is fast asleep next to him. Trying to keep quiet, Carlos slips out of bed, footsteps padding silently over to the bathroom. Carlos tries to make sure that the door doesn’t make too much noise as he shuts it; TK had been working more shifts that normal and had come home exhausted last night. With made Carlos more aware of not making any sudden sounds, as TK was a light sleeper, and could rouse immediately.

Flicking on the lights, Carlos winced, and took a quick assessment of himself in the mirror. His eyes were bloodshot and Carlos sneezed once. Allergy season had started. They had slept with the windows cracked open, wanting to take advantage of the nice breeze, Carlos not realizing that all that pollen would be blown into the room. Carlos opened the medicine cabinet, figuring he could take some allergy medication, only to find the box empty. Sighing, Carlos tossed the box into the trash, and grabbed his toothbrush. Maybe he had another box in the kitchen? Not a chance.

There was nothing in the apartment, so Carlos shoved his shoes on, scribbled out a quick note to TK, and darted out of the door. It was horrible outside. The pollen count was going to be bad this year, which seemed to be the news each time spring came around, and Carlos blasted the AC in his car. Thankfully, there was a convenience store around the corner. Carlos found the medicine quickly, going down the next aisle to pick up one of TK’s favorite treats, before heading over to the checkout line. The clerk gave him an odd look, likely due to the redness in his eyes, before ringing up his items.

TK was awake when he came back.

“Hey,” TK’s back was to him as he kicked off his shoes. Normally, he unlaced them, but that seemed like way too much effort, and bending over would only increase the pressure in his head. “Where’d you go?”

“Convenience store. I was out of allergy meds,” Carlos slid the bag of sour gummy worms across the island counter. “Did I wake you up?”

“Nah,” TK turned around and visibly winced as he took in his boyfriend. “Oh, wow, you look like hell.”

“Gee, thanks, you really know how to sweep a guy off his feet,” Carlos grumbled as he got a glass and filled it out water. Opening up the box, he popped out one of the tablets, and swallowed it down.

“You didn’t tell me it got this bad.”

“Normally it isn’t, but I forgot to take anything for it, and I was out this morning,” Carlos let TK bully him sitting, hands going to threat through his hair, before gently cupping his cheeks. Cool fingers traced under his eyes, Carlos sagging into the touch, eyes closing.

“Seasonal allergies?” TK asked.

“Yeah. And hay fever, happens every year.” It was a fun little fact to learn, especially since half his family had to suffer as well, and Carlos had just learned to deal with it. “Did you make coffee?”

“I did,” TK said. “I think tea might help, if you’d like? Is there anything else that you do for this?”

Carlos shook his head, a bad idea he realized a second later, the pressure in his head increasing. TK ushered him off to the couch, handing him the remote, before going back to the kitchen. Even though Carlos made sure to get Zyrtec, something he could take during the day, Benadryl is something he only takes during the night, due to the drowsy effects. He must be more tired than he thought, because he comes back around to TK gently shaking his shoulder.

“Hey, sit up and drink this,” TK basically bundles him up on the couch, and Carlos notices that his dehumidifier has been moved out into the living room, and the windows have been shut in favor of the AC. “It’s lemon, be careful, it’s still hot.” TK cautions as he hands him the mug.

The tea does help, soothing an itch in the back of his throat, and the pair of them watch some old sitcom rerun on the TV screen. Well, TK watches it; Carlos focuses more on not spilling his drink and how the burning in his eyes is slowly going away. The two of them are off today, the first time in weeks, and Carlos has no desire to leave his apartment. After the tea is gone, and TK swiftly taking it from him in favor of pulling Carlos down to cuddle on his chest, the pull of sleep is too hard to ignore. It’s not a deep sleep, and the gently touches ensure that his body stays relaxed, eyes opening only when TK shifts below him.

“Sorry, go back to sleep, I just needed to move my leg. It went numb,” TK explains, adjusting the blanket. “How are you doing?”

“Alright,” Carlos nuzzled into TK’s neck, inhaling the fading scent of his aftershave, and tried to focus on the show playing on the TV screen. “Sorry to sleep on you.”

“Why? You needed the rest.”

“It’s our day off. We should be doing something.”

“We are,” TK pointed out. “Cuddling on the couch is something. And later, we can make lunch and snuggle some more.” TK frowned as he looked over Carlos’s face. “Do your eyes normally get this red?”

“Yeah. Don’t be shocked if they get more swollen than this. It’s normal.”

“What do you normally do for it?”

“Take the meds, wait for it to kick in,” Carlos sniffled. “Hay fever sucks.”

“Would a shower help?” Carlos shrugged. Honestly, he didn’t want to get up, but the steam would probably help. “Come on, I’ll get you set up.”

Short of actually bathing him, TK did everything; getting the water up and running, setting out a towel and fresh clothes, before leaving Carlos to it. When it was done, Carlos did feel better, and he shuffled out to find TK coming through the front door.

“Where did you go?”

“Popped down to the store. Figured we could give these things a try to see if they help,” TK said, holding up the plastic bag, and pointed Carlos back to the couch. As he got comfortable, TK started taking stuff out and lining it up on the coffee table. “I got some eye drops, more tissues with lotion in it, and the pharmacist recommended this nasal spray to try,” TK said. “Also grabbed some more meds, so that you won’t run out any time soon.” Carlos blinked, before his face morphed into a soft smile.

“You didn’t have to do this.”

“I wanted to,” TK opened the tissue box and handed him a Kleenex when Carlos sneezed.

“You always take care of me, let me have a turn, okay?” Carlos wanted to say a lot of things at that moment, all of them ‘mushy and overly cute’, as Judd would say, but refrained from it.

“Okay.”

“Good. Now, you can’t take another dose right now, but we can try out the eye drops and nasal spray,” TK grabbed both, holding one in each hand. “Where do you want to start?” Carlos laughed, a sight with his red nose, puffy eyes, and hand clutching a tissue, and pointed to the eye drops, letting TK position him and go to work.


	2. Bruises

Carlos wondered if he would be able to somehow teleport himself up to his bed. The thought of dragging himself out of his car, up the small flight of steps, and then into his apartment. Then again, his car was set to be taken to the mechanic tomorrow; the car accident wasn’t that bad, no serious injuries, but Carlos would be sore for the next week. It didn’t help that the weather was crappy, either, the rain causing unsafe driving conditions. Thankfully, it was only minor repairs that would be needed, and Carlos suffered no lasting injuries, hardly warranting a trip to the hospital.

Groaning, Carlos shut the car off and fished around for his keys. Shuffling to the door, mourning the fact that his jacket didn’t have a hood, Carlos was soaking wet by the time he got the door unlocked. Kicking his shoes off, and dumping his wet clothes by the entrance, Carlos headed towards his bed. Collapsing onto the sheets, Carlos quickly burrowed under the covers, and fell asleep. Only to wake up some time later to someone spooning him from behind.

“Ty?” Carlos asked, voice thick with sleep, and the resulting body behind him shifted.

“Yeah,” TK’s breath ghosted over his cheek, before kissing him, carefully pulling Carlos closer to his chest. “Heard about what happened and I wanted to check on you. You didn’t answer your phone.”

“Battery died,” Carlos had meant to charge it. “I’m okay.”

“Really? ‘Cus the right side of your car looks pretty banged up.”

“It’s cosmetic damage,” Carlos said, rolling over so that he was facing TK. “I hit the puddle just enough to send me over to the guard rail.”

Overall, it could have been worse; if he went a little farther down the road, he might have ended up down an embankment.

“Well, a car can be fixed or replaced. You can’t be.” Carlos frowned and leaned back a bit.

“It sounds like you’re either mad at me or I’m in some sort of trouble.”

“I’m not mad at you, per say,” TK sighed. “Just, your phone died, and then you had an accident and I heard about it, but I couldn’t reach you.”

“So, you assumed the worst,” Carlos surmised. “Baby, I’m alright, it was just bad timing on all accounts.” TK didn’t say anything, choosing instead to pull Carlos back to his chest, hand roaming over his skin.

“Just let me hold you like this for a little while, please? Until my brain stops picturing you in all these nightmare situations,” TK asked.

Carlos nodded, already falling back into a state of sleep, not focusing on anything other than the sound of TK’s heartbeat under his ear. When he woke up for the second time, Carlos was tucked in, body acutely sore. Carlos carefully stretched, pushing back the covers, wincing when he finally sat up.

“What are you doing?” TK asked, startling Carlos, and both men paused to look at the other. TK, standing in the doorway, arms crossed. Carlos, sitting on the side of the bed, confused expression painted on his face.

“Um, getting up?”

“Unless it’s to the bathroom, I don’t think so,” TK came over and scanned him over. “How are you feeling?” Carlos pondered that for a moment. Overall, not to great, but it wasn’t terrible. He’d worked through worse pains before.

“I’m alright,” Carlos put his hands on Tk’s hips. “I was going to jump in the shower.”

“Want some company?” Carlos laughed.

“Normally, I’d be up for any sexy shower time with you, Ty, but I really just want to get clean.”

“I meant,” TK said, rolling his eyes, “That if you didn’t mind, I could help you out. Have you even seen how bad the bruising is yet?” Carlos frowned and TK pulled him up and over to the bathroom.

Flicking on the light, TK moved so that Carlos was standing in front of the mirror, displaying the evidence from last night clearly on his skin. There was bruising on his shoulder and collarbone from when the seatbelt cut into his skin; additional marks around his waist from the lower strap of the seatbelt, as well as where the right side of his ribs rammed against the console. The bruises were taking on a faint purple hue, likely to turn worse before starting to fade.

“Maybe we should double check for bone fractures,” TK mused.

“I don’t have any fractures.”

“The bruising is by your ribs, one of them could be broken, does it hurt to breathe?” Carlos turned around and cupped TK’s face.

“No, it doesn’t. I can take a full breath, I can move my arm up and down, it just looks bad,” Carlos hated when TK got like this, overly worried over something minor, his anxiety manifesting the situation into something worse than it actually was.

“I’m catastrophizing again, aren’t I?” TK said, giving a rueful grin, before dropping his shoulders. “I just worry, you know? We had a couple rough calls, all of them car related…” TK trailed off.

“So, when you heard about another car accident, with my car description and given the fact that I wasn’t answering my phone, you panicked.”

“I’ll let you shower,” TK tried to step away and Carlos didn’t let him.

“Didn’t you offer to help me?”

“Yes?”

“Alright, well, I want to have a nice, relaxing shower with my boyfriend.” It was interesting how many emotions could filter over TK’s face in a given moment. First, he was surprised, then flustered, before relieved.

“I know I’m hovering.”

“Yeah, and I don’t mind.”

“You might when I start getting overbearing.”

“How about this,” Carlos tugged TK’s shirt off. “You can take care of me for the day. If there’s something I don’t like, I’ll tell you, otherwise everything is far game.”

The resulting smile he got was going to be worth any amount of hovering TK was about to do. They got undressed and hopped into the shower, the warm water feeling great on his skin, chasing away that lingering chill he had leftover from the previous night. Which brought him back to the wet pile of clothes likely still sitting by the door.

“What’s that face for?” TK asked as he poured out some shampoo into his hands. However, he didn’t start to wash his own hair, hands going to work on Carlos’s instead.

“I forgot about the clothes by the door,” Carlos shut his eyes to avoid getting any shampoo in them. “Probably have a decent puddle there by now.”

“I took care of that. Tilt your head back so I can rinse your hair.” The combination of the water and Tk’s gentle ministrations felt amazing.

“You took care of it?”

“Sure did. Clothes are in the wash and the would-be puddle has been mopped away.” TK seemed obsessed with making sure he covered each part of Carlos with the soap. Fingers carefully rubbing the loofah over his skin, mindful to not apply too much pressure where the bruises were, before allowing Carlos to wash TK’s hair as well. The water was beginning to grow cold by the time they were done and TK went out to fetch clothes for the both of them. When that was taken care of, TK herded him towards the living room, gesturing with his eyes to the couch, then back to Carlos.

“You want me on the couch?”

“Yes, and don’t even think of moving off of it.” Carlos got comfortable, sinking into the cushions, as TK walked over to the kitchen. Crossing his legs at the ankles and hugging a pillow to his chest, Carlos scanned the area of the remote, only to spot it on the little side table.

So, he went to get up and grab it, only to stop when he heard, “Hey! Butt back on the couch!”

“I was just getting the remote.” TK grabbed the remote, as well as the blanket on the chair, before turning back to the kitchen and plucking something off the counter. Clutched in his hand was Carlos’s cell phone, fully charged, and likely packed full of unread messages.

“I charged it for you when I came over,” TK handed it over. “Now, I’m not a fancy cook like you, but I can make some really good French toast. That sound good?”

“Sounds great,” As if on cue, Carlos’s stomach grumbled and TK grinned. “Am I able to ask for a cup of coffee when you get the chance?”

“I think I can make that happen.” Scrolling through the messages, Carlos answered them; most were from TK and Grace, with one being from his mother. Once that was done, he went through social media, before clicking the screen off and setting the phone aside. He turned the TV on, finding a show that both he and TK enjoyed, and settled in. It wasn’t long before TK came back, handing him a cup of coffee, and kissing him on the forehead.

“Food should be ready soon.”

“It smells good.”

There were warm smells of cinnamon and nutmeg coming from the kitchen. They ate at the table, after another refill of his coffee was done by TK, the two of them eating with the TV on in the background. Following breakfast, Carlos was denied the chance to do dishes, but was allowed to stay and watch as TK moved around the room, shifting his hips at the sink, leaning forward to wipe down the table. Judging by TK’s smirk, he knew that he was teasing Carlos.

Towards the beginning of the afternoon, the soreness began to change into more of an ache, and getting comfortable became a challenge. Laying on his side hurt, having his arm up on the arm of the couch hurt, and twisting to get into a better position hurt. Groaning, Carlos finally gave in, and tried to remember where he left the bottle of pain medication.

“You doing alright?”

“Think I might take some Ibuprofen.”

“Wait, let’s go to the bed, I’ve got an idea.”

“If you want sex, I’m all for it, but I think you might have to do most of the heavy lifting.”

“I don’t want sex,” TK flicked his nose. “Well, not right now. Not when you don’t feel too hot. Take your shirt off and get on the bed.” TK disappeared into the bathroom, opening up the cabinet, and Carlos waited on his stomach, head resting on his hands. TK reappeared less than a minute later. “How are you feeling about a massage?”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Carlos watched as TK held up a little bottle of lotion, one he didn’t remember buying, and soon the faint smell of eucalyptus wafted out. Carlos jumped at the first touch, before relaxing, TK straddled over his rear, careful to not put any weight on him. “Where’d you learn how to do this?” TK’s hands were moving in a way that suggested it wasn’t his first time doing this.

“Watched a couple of videos. Figured it would be something good to know for the future.” Between the lotion, the gliding of TK’s hands against every knot in his back, and the comfort of his own bed, Carlos was well on his way to falling asleep again.

“Keep this up and I’ll be asleep soon,” Carlos warned. TK’s lips pressed against the side of his neck, where the lotion hadn’t reached yet, and his hands traced small circles at the base of his back.

“That’s the idea. To get you to rest and let me take care of you.”

“You’re doing a good job of it,” Carlos cracked open an eye and was rewarded with a blinding smile.

“Good, now let me finish,” TK punctuated his words with another kiss, this time on Carlos’s lips, and went back to work. With the aide of the massage, coupled with the feather light kisses TK placed upon his skin, Carlos quickly drifted back off to sleep. The ache from the bruises was now just a faint memory, the pain being pushed away by other touches.


	3. Concussion

Carlos started to come back to wakefulness in parts.

Opening his eyes seemed like too much effort, so he took stock of everything else. He was laying down on something soft, likely a bed, and the sheets were warm. It was quiet, every once in a while a noise came from somewhere far away from where he was, and Carlos was able to block it out. He shifted, causing the blanket that was draped over him to slip off his shoulder, and he shivered. He was shirtless, which didn’t happen unless he had gone to bed.

He didn’t remember going to bed. Come to think of it, Carlos couldn’t recall a lot of details on how he ended up here.

It took longer than he would ever admit to get his eyes to open. The room was dark, curtains pulled across the windows to block out light from the outside, and the bedroom door was closed. Carlos scanned the room before he realized that this was not his room. The curtains were black, not navy blue, and Carlos didn’t have a tiny desk pressed up against the wall. The blanket was purple and soft, the sheets flannel, nothing like he had at home. Carlos glanced up at the bedside table, catching sight of the picture placed there, and he relaxed.

This might not be his room, true, but he did know the person who actually inhabited this space. The picture of him and TK, grinning up through the photo, was facing him. Carlos remember when that was taken; it had been a little after their first weekend away as a couple, going out to a naughty get-away at a small cottage, TK and Carlos making good use of the room. The picture had them on the bed, only their faces showing, grinning up at the camera, eyes beaming. That had been a good weekend.

So, he was in TK’s bed. That only left two questions: why he was currently in TK’s bed and where his boyfriend was at the moment. He didn’t have to wait long to find out. Just as Carlos was contemplating sitting up, which didn’t seem like a good idea when rolling to his side made the room spin, the door opened and his boyfriend walked in.

“Hey, you’re awake,” TK was smiling at him, sitting on the edge of the bed, hand instantly going to cup his cheek. “How are you feeling?”

“Alright?” Carlos didn’t hurt, exactly; his head ached, sure, but he wasn’t sure why it did.

“You don’t sound sure about that.”

“I’m in your bed,” Carlos tried to string his thoughts together. It was much easier when he didn’t have to actually get them out using his mouth. “Why am I in your bed?”

“What do you remember?” TK asked, voice calm, and that helped a bit. TK wouldn’t be this calm if something serious had happened. Carlos tried to recall something, anything, hoping that some little detail would come through to give him more information. At Carlos’s lost expression, TK decided to get the ball rolling. “We went out for a bike ride together. Your bike hit a rock and sent you down the embankment,” TK said. “You cracked your head pretty hard against the ground and blacked out for a bit.”

“I don’t remember that,” Carlos croaked. He honestly didn’t. However, it did give some clarity to why his head hurt. Carlos lifted a hand, which was on a course for his forehead, only to have TK gently tug his hand away. “Why’d you do that?”

“Because you have stitches and I don’t want you messing with them,” TK linked their hands together, further limiting his chances of touching the skin, especially with his other hand still stuck under the blanket.

“I don’t remember anything,” Carlos repeated.

“It’s alright,” TK soothed. “You were really out of it at the hospital. I only got half of what you were saying, you kept using Spanish for every other sentence.” TK had been taking Spanish lessons, and practicing with Carlos when he could, but his comprehension was still a work in progress.

“How bad is it?”

“You got nine stitches,” TK told him. “A concussion, some other minor bruises and cuts. The doctor says that it’s normal for you to not remember what happened. It might come back over time.”

“So, I’ve been here the whole time?” Carlos wasn’t even sure what the time was, or how long he had been here since the accident.

“Yeah, it’s been almost a day since you got hurt. I got you to the hospital, then took you back here, since my place was closer.” TK looked down sheepishly. “I didn’t want to let you out of my sight. So, I put you to bed, did the concussion checks, made sure you were comfortable.”

He looked proud of that fact. It was one thing in their relationship that made TK insecure at times; that Carlos was taking on more caregiver duties that TK, leaving the emotional balance skewed.

“Thank you,” Carlos said, smiling up at him, and carefully stretched. “What time is it?”

“Almost dinner time. Are you hungry?” TK might have asked him a question, but his face showed no room for arguments, Carlos would be eating something even if it was only a bite or two.

“I could eat,” Carlos replied. His stomach wasn’t protesting the idea of food. TK helped him sit up, taking it nice and slow, which cut down on the dizziness with the change in position.

“Why don’t we try some chicken broth?” It wasn’t a bad idea.

“Sure,” Carlos was soon propped up, pillows framing him in against the bedframe, and TK quickly left for the kitchen. He must have dozed off, because he startled awake when TK called his name.

“Am I not exciting enough for you?” TK teased.

“You’re plenty exciting,” Carlos grumbled as he blinked his eyes, trying to clear the fogginess from them. “Come over here and I’ll show you.”

“I think we might need to hold off on that. At least until sitting up doesn’t make you want to fall over,” TK turned the light on, setting it to the lowest level possible, and then grabbed the mug. “Here, small sips.”

The broth went down easy, Carlos starting off with small sips, trying to gauge how his stomach was reacting to it. Soon, he was taking larger gulps, hunger finally coming around, and Carlos quickly finished off the meager meal.

“Can I have some more?”

“Let’s see how you deal with this. I don’t want to have you getting sick again,” TK cautioned.

“I got sick before?”

“Too much water. I should have cut you off, but I didn’t, so you got sick. I think you were more upset over the fact that you threw up on my sheets then the fact that you actually got sick.” TK was trying to make the statement light and Carlos saw the undercurrent of shame.

“It wasn’t your fault, it was an accident.”

“You throwing up?”

“My drinking the water. It was an accident,” Carlos said passing off the mug. TK shook his head, shoulders relaxing, and pecked Carlos’s cheek.

“You’re sweet. Fine, it was an accident.” TK pulled back. “How’s the pain?” Carlos wasn’t hurting that bad; his head was pounding a little, and his body, mainly his knees, felt sore.

“Not terrible,” Carlos hedged.

“I’m going to get you some medicine, just in case,” TK got up again, taking the empty mug with him, before Carlos could stop him. Like last time, TK was back before he could really start to miss him, pressing up close against him. “I’ve got water and pain meds. Even if you aren’t hurting right now, I’d like you to take a dose,” TK held out his palm, containing the pain pill, the other holding onto the glass of water.

“Yeah, that might be a good idea,” Carlos popped the pill, wincing at the chalky taste, and swallowed it down with the aide of the water. Unlike the broth, he took his time with the water, TK’s previous concerns echoing in his brain. After that was done, Carlos was tired, eyes threatening to close. “You can go do stuff if you want,” Carlos offered. “I’m not that much company right now.”

“You don’t have to be. You’re recovering, I can handle amusing myself until you’re feeling a little better,” TK refuted. “However, if you want, we could try going out onto the couch?”

“We can’t watch a movie.” No screen time was a staple for concussion recovery.

“Yes, no TV for you. But, it might be a good change of scenery and you could close your eyes and listen?” Carlos shrugged; he’d probably be asleep before the movie really got going.

“Long as you stay, I don’t care,” Carlos insisted, twisting into TK’s shoulder, wanting to keep close. He was spoiled, wanting to be touching TK often, which was sometimes the only thing that relaxed him. TK helped him get moving, stopping once he was sitting up on the edge of the bed, before he got another idea.

“How do you feel about me carrying you?”

“Okay?” Carlos answered.

“I mean, you get dizzy, and walking might be hard right now, so I could carry you to the couch. You could even keep your eyes closed if it made it easier,” TK rambled. Carlos smiled. TK was strong, he had to be in order to do his job properly, and Carlos loved when his boyfriend used his strength to move him around.

“I really like it when you carry me,” Carlos revealed. He might be talking more due to the concussion, not that he minded, especially when TK needed to hear him say these things. Needed the reassurance that Carlos loved him.

“Then let’s get going,” TK said.

Arms slipped under his thighs and across his shoulders, easing him up, and then he was resting against TK’s chest. Carlos tucked his head against TK’s shoulder, eyes sliding shut, body rocking as TK walked. All too soon, Carlos was being placed on the couch. TK quickly got him set up with the pillows and blankets, adjusting the lighting, before coming back to him.

“How do you want me?” TK asked.

“Behind me,” Carlos could hear the slur of sleep in his voice. TK helped him sit up, sliding in behind him, and then wrapping his arms around his waist. Carlos sighed as TK started to click buttons, lowering the volume on whatever show was playing.

“Don’t be afraid to go to sleep. I’ll wake you up in a couple hours again,” TK kissed his temple.

“I’m coherent,” Carlos whined. “My brain works.”

“I’m glad it does. I want to keep it that way, so humor me,” TK sassed.

A hand came up to start playing with the stray curls on the side of his head. That, coupled with the warmth of TK at his back, was enough to have Carlos drifting off into an easy sleep. It felt like no time had passed before he was awake again.

“Shh, I know, I know,” TK chanted as Carlos frowned. “Just answer these questions for me and you can go back to sleep, ‘Los.” Carlos hummed as TK hugged him.

“What’s your name?”

“Carlos Reyes,” That one was easy.

“What’s today?” “Saturday,” Carlos found that details were coming back with less difficulty that before. “Also, it’s May 2020.”

“Alright, mister snarky,” TK laughed. “Last one. You remember me?” That had been a fear of his, once, when TK was still unconscious after the shooting. That he would wake up and not remember anyone, not remember who Carlos was.

“Tyler Kennedy Strand,” Carlos murmured as his eyes looked up to lock onto TK. “You’re my boyfriend.”

“Ten out of ten,” TK kissed his forehead. “Still tired?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Go back to sleep, I’ll be here, babe,” TK whispered, taking Carlos’s weight as he fell back asleep.


	4. Downhill

Carlos knew it was stupid. He had been hiking in these parts of Texas for years; he knew what was necessary to pack, how to stay safe, and worked with dozens of first responders. When he got out of this, Carlos was going to get the mother of all lectures. Actually, forget lectures, he might not be able to leave the house ever again unless he was accompanied by someone. Panting, Carlos pushed himself another couple of steps, before stumbling.

It was supposed to be a short hike. The trail was one of the more popular ones, people praising its challenging slopes and scenic views, and Carlos had gone walking or running along the path many times. Only, this time Carlos hadn’t double checked his water supply, thinking that he had a full bottle. It was a little under half filled. Then, as he was descending a portion of the trail, his foot snagged something, and he rolled his ankle. His hands were scraped up, one of the cuts deep enough to bleed faintly, barely distracting him from the throbbing of his ankle.

Carlos shifted so he was sitting on the ground, wincing as the sun hit his eyes, and pulled out his cell phone again. No service. Carlos thought about his options. He could try and go back the way he came down, which was roughly a mile and a half walk, and all uphill. Or, he could wait for another hiker to come along, but that left him sitting out in the sun for an undetermined amount of time. Neither was a good choice. Finally, Carlos got up, and started going back the way he came down. In his head, he started a simple chant: one foot, next foot, one foot.

After a while, his ankle stopped pulsing with pain, now just a dull ache. With any luck, it wasn’t sprained. Carlos pulled out his water bottle, bringing it up for a drink, and only got a few drops out. Had he really been drinking that much of it? By the time he made it back to the main path, Carlos was dripping with sweat. Not only was he sweaty, Carlos’s mouth was dry, and his vision swayed a little bit. Austin heat was nothing to joke around with and he feel stupid for going out into it being so ill-prepared. Spotting a couple of benches, which were in the shade, Carlos limped over to them.

Trying his cell phone one more time, he found he had service, as well as several missed texts from TK. There was also a missed called, which Carlos also noticed was from his boyfriend, and hit the dial button.

“Hey,” TK greeted when he picked up. Carlos couldn’t help smiling, hearing TK’s voice was infectious, despite his situation.

“Hey, Ty,” Carlos grimaced as he moved his leg. From this angle, it looked swollen. Getting his shoe off was going to be a pain.

“I’m at your place, where you at?”

“Mountain Ridge,” Carlos said. “Only, I think I’m going to be slow getting back.” The trail was only a five minute walk from his apartment so driving didn’t make sense.

“Why? Did you push yourself too hard?” Carlos paused, debating internally if he should come clean now or wait until later. “Carlos?”

"I think I might have sprained my ankle,” Carlos admitted. “And I didn’t pack enough water.”

“Where are you?” Over the line, Carlos could hear the jangling of keys, and the muffled sounds of TK scrambling to get his shoes on.

“On the benches,” Carlos answered. “I can make it back-“

“Don’t even think about it. Keep your ass on that bench.”

The call ended quickly after that and Carlos sat there, holding his phone and attempting to find a position that didn’t hurt his leg. By the time TK found him, he was panting hard, lopping up the dirt path.

“Okay, I’m here, what hurts?” TK gasped as he sank down to his knees before Carlos. His hands went to his legs, quickly noticing which one was the injured one, before cupping it. “Geez, it’s pretty swollen already. How long ago did this happen?” Carlos shrugged. He tried to wet his lips, only serving them by making them drier, and winced as TK palpated the muscle.

“Is it sprained?”

“Yeah, you rolled it pretty good. No fractures, but I see a long day with plenty of ice and elevation for you,” TK said, falling back on his medical training, and moved to sit beside him. “You look pale, too.”

“Just thirsty,” Carlos was pretty parched and cursed, again, for not filling his water bottle up.

“Come on, I parked my car close by,” TK shouldered the bag, wrapping one arm around Carlos’s waist, and helped him up. The walk back was slow, Carlos shuffling towards the end, finally being unable to put much weight on his foot. Inside the car, placed in the shady part of the seat, was a chilled water bottle from the fridge. “Here, slow sips, don’t chug it.” TK instructed as he handed it to him. Carlos opened it, sighing as the water hit the back of his throat, and closed his eyes. The AC was blasting on within seconds as TK pulled out and headed back to the apartment.

“I was stupid, I didn’t check to make sure I had everything,” Carlos said. “And I wasn’t paying attention to where my feet were landing.”

“I’m not mad at you, Carlos,” TK frowned as he turned onto the street. “I just wish you were your normal overprepared self, that’s all.”

“Tomorrow is going to suck,” Carlos was supposed to work a full shift.

“We’ll ice your ankle and wrap it,” TK smiled at him. “You’ll be good to go in no time. I’ve had plenty of sprained ankles, I’m practically a pro at working through them.” Carlos laughed, finishing off the last of the water bottle, placing the empty hunk of plastic in the cup holder.

“At least I’m not sunburned,” Carlos said.

“Good, one less thing for me to worry about,” TK teased. “How’s the pain right now?” Carlos tried to flex his ankle and gasped at the flaring pain that resulted.

“A little worse,” Carlos would like to think he had a good pain tolerance, but this pain was definitely worse than before. TK found a parking spot, shutting off the car, and quickly rounding around the hood to open the door. This time, Carlos tried to put a little weight on it, and quickly realized that it was a bad idea. “Nope, ouch, that was a stupid idea,” Carlos said as his knee bent a bit. TK, now taking most of his weight, helped him over to the front door.

“Easy does it,” TK soothed as he helped Carlos limp over to the couch, snagging a pillow and placing it under Carlos’s foot.

“My coffee table is not supposed to have feet on it,” Carlos complained. TK lifted his eyebrows and stared at him.

“I’m sorry, but who was the one that got hurt and who was the one that came out and saved the other?”

“You did,” Carlos muttered. TK grinned and kissed him.

“Hush, you big baby, let me get you some ice.” Getting the sneaker off was painful, no more so than the rest of it had been, and Carlos was handed another water bottle as TK got the ice placed the way he wanted.

“Okay, we’ll check it in twenty,” TK sat down beside him, remote in hand, and Carlos sagged into his side. “Any requests for TV?”

“We could continue watching Parks and Rec?”

“But we started The Office,” TK pouted. “Come on, you know that it’s growing on you.”

They compromised on watching one episode of each show. However, after the first episode of The Office, TK guilts him into another three, and soon the ice bag on his ankle is just a melted bag of water. It’s also caused a mini puddle, dampening the pillow.

“Let’s see how it moves,” TK guides his hands back to the joint, moving it this way and that, all directions causing Carlos to frown.

“Still hurts,” Carlos reports.

“Like I said earlier, no broken bones, you just sprained the hell out of it.” TK got up, taking the melted ice bag with him, and comes back with a fresh one. The coldness feels good, and Carlos leans his head back against the back of the couch, watching the screen with little attention. “Where do you keep your ACE bandages?” TK asked, one hand tangling in the curls on top of his head, and Carlos opens his eyes.

“Under the sink,” He tells him. TK nods, walks away, returning back into the room less than a minute later.

“After this episode is done, I’ll wrap your leg,” TK is unbothered by Carlos shaking his head. “We can just keep using the ice.”

“Ice is good and all, but wrapping it will help with the swelling. You can’t keep ice on it forever.”

“It makes it hurt less.”

“I know,” TK pulled him into a hug. “Trust me, you want it wrapped, or you’ll be worse off in the morning.”

Carlos wants to argue more, sure he’d be fine, only an argument against a fire fighter doesn’t seem like a good idea. The episode is over quicker than Carlos would like. TK is soon back to sitting on his coffee table, ankle resting in his lap, working the ACE bandage on with practiced ease. Carlos, for his part, doesn’t do much more than sit there.

“How’d you get so good at this?” They had to have taught this in any of the courses TK took to get certified.

“Remember how I told you I was a pro at getting sprained ankles? Well, I got pretty good at wrapping them, too.”

“Doing what though?” Carlos knew that TK wasn’t a clumsy kid, at least, not that he’s been told.

“I played sports throughout school,” TK said as he neared the end of the bandage. “Soccer and basketball, mostly, and I always got one sprain during the season. Eventually, I stopped going to the trainer and began to fix it myself.”

“They could have helped,” Carlos played baseball throughout high school and the trainer seemed to have a cure for any ache or pain.

“They did. I was in there often enough that I knew all the tricks,” TK finished and checked to make sure none of the layers were too tight or twisted. “How does it feel?”

“Snug,” Carlos replied.

“Too snug? I don’t want it cutting circulation off.”

“No, it’s good,” Carlos tilted his head and smiled. “You did a better job than I would have, that’s for sure.”

“Like I said,” TK moved, putting his foot back on the pillow, dry side this time. “I’m an expert.”

Carlos gets two tablets of Ibuprofen when they order lunch; TK might have improved cooking skills after many weeks of practicing, but Carlos’s cabinets and fridge are pretty bare. That, and Carlos can’t be on his feet for long periods, so cooking is out. They order sushi, swapping rolls and kisses as they continue to let Netflix play in the background. By the time the food is gone, Carlos is restless. Sitting for long periods of time never went over well with him. TK helps him down the hall to his room, where he gingerly uses the bathroom, before changing into a pair of shorts and clean top.

He’d take a shower if his foot wasn’t hurting still, and there are no grab bars installed, so TK would complain about potential fall risks. One day, Carlos is going to come back to find his entire apartment redone with all new safety measures in the kitchen and bathroom.

“So, don’t be mad,” TK starts when he comes out of the bathroom.

“That doesn’t bode well,” Carlos fires back. “I might have, accidently, told Michelle about what happened.”

“You didn’t.”

“It was an accident!”

“She’s going to come over, isn’t she?”

“Um, more like she just got off shift and is already on her way?” TK confesses, half-smiling, and Carlos sighs. He can’t be angry when his boyfriend looks like a little puppy. Buttercup is teaching him too well.

“Come on,” Carlos flops down on the bed. “Let’s enjoy the quiet before I get chewed out.” TK smiles and joins him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment or a kudos if you wish :)


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